It’s not often that there’s a movie set at the turn of the millennium or a truly engaging film released during the limbo months between blockbuster seasons, but Scott Frank’s “A Walk Among the Tombstones” delivers on both counts.

Liam Neeson Stars as Matt Scudder, a former NYPD detective who used to have a very unhealthy habit of chasing booze with as much passion as he chased bad guys. The two intersected with tragic results when he took a booth at his favorite dive just as two thugs were robbing the place, blowing away the bartender in the process. What follows is a shootout that grabs you by the throat and leaves Scudder reexamining his life.

Flash forward to 1999, where we find a clean and sober Scudder. He’s traded in his police title (but still holds on to the badge) for a private eye shingle. Fresh out of an AA meeting, Scudder is approached by drug trafficker Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens) whose wife was recently kidnapped and murdered. Scudder is a bit conflicted working with the yuppie junior drug kingpin, but forty grand helps ease his inner turmoil. Just as he’s had enough of Kristo and his business, a young girl (Danielle Rose Russell) is abducted by the kidnappers and Scudder goes all-in on finding them and making sure no one is taken again.

With all due respect to the dozen or so guys sharing the latest “Expendables” marquee, Liam Neeson is the poster child for AARP badasses. However, it would be a crime to confuse “A Walk Among the Tombstones” with “Taken in the Cemetery.” Based on Lawrence Block’s series of novels, Neeson’s Scudder is more than just a guy with a particular set of skills. He’s a broken man seeking redemption and living life one day at a time. Although taking great pains to stay true to the book, Frank subtly uses the Y2K frenzy to illustrate the film’s tagline, “People are afraid of all the wrong things.” And we’re reminded from the opening credits that we should be very afraid of kidnappers Ray (David Harbour) and Albert (Adam David Thompson). They’re as calculating as they are sadistic and force Scudder to go far outside his comfort zone to catch them.

It may be hard for some to remember a time where dialup access was the most popular way of getting online, but Frank hammers home a moment in time where the information age had its first big scare. Scudder’s technophobic ways allow him to reluctantly adopt an artistic, internet-savvy sidekick in the form of T.J. (Brian “Astro” Bradley of “The X-Factor”). The homeless teen with a serious disease helps Scudder gather info on the two killers, and the duo gains a healthy respect for one another in the process.

What’s most engaging about “A Walk Among the Tombstones” is that it borrows more from the gumshoes of the past than the current generation of police procedurals reigning over network TV. It’s one part Sam Spade and one part Jim Rockford. “Tombstones” is full of noir clichés, from the long static shots, to the implied torture of the victims. Sometimes those shots can go a bit too long, causing the 114-minute running time to drag in places. Some of that time would’ve been better spent developing the characters of Ray and Albert, but it’s hard to take your eyes off Neeson even when he lacks the invulnerability of his “Taken” past.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/09/18/movie-review-a-walk-among-the-tombstones/feed/0Movie Review: “A Million Ways to Die in the West”http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/05/29/movie-review-a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/05/29/movie-review-a-million-ways-to-die-in-the-west/#commentsThu, 29 May 2014 16:00:52 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=36824

There’s a reason why there aren’t many comedy Westerns, and even fewer that are actually any good, and that’s because the subgenre as a whole is very difficult to pull off. So you have to credit Seth MacFarlane for not only having the cojones to follow up “Ted” with such an offbeat genre hybrid film, but actually succeed where so many others have failed. “A Million Ways to Die in the West” is probably his most ambitious project to date, and although that may sound strange for a man who made a movie about a talking teddy bear, it’s nice to see a filmmaker with that kind of confidence. Like most things in MacFarlane’s career, “A Million Ways to Die in the West” is guaranteed to divide audiences, but it’s a really solid comedy with more than enough laughs to offset its minor shortcomings.

MacFarlane stars as Albert, a cowardly sheep farmer who’s astutely aware of just how horrible life is in 1882 Arizona. After weaseling his way out of a gun fight, Albert’s embarrassed girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried) dumps him for Foy (Neil Patrick Harris), the arrogant owner of the local moustachery. While contemplating leaving town for a fresh start, Albert saves a beautiful woman named Anna (Charlize Theron) and they immediately bond over their shared hatred of the Wild West. When Albert challenges Foy to a duel in the hope of winning back Louise, Anna agrees to help him become a better gunfighter, falling for the lovable loser in the process. But what Albert doesn’t realize is that Anna is married to a dangerous outlaw named Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson), who rides into town upon hearing of Anna’s infidelity to kill the man that stole his woman.

“A Million Ways to Die in the West” is a very different kind of movie than MacFarlane’s directorial debut, and that’s what makes it so refreshing, because while he could have done pretty much whatever he wanted, he chose to take a risk instead and challenge himself creatively. By setting the film in the 19th century, MacFarlane has effectively forced himself to eschew from his usual pop culture references (save for a couple in-jokes that work in the context of the time period) in favor of more observational humor about the general horribleness and idiosyncrasies of the American frontier. Not every joke works, and the toilet humor is completely unnecessary, but there’s a lot of great material here that’s even funnier than some of the best stuff in “Ted,” including a pair of cameos that trump the Sam Jones/“Flash Gordon” sequence.

MacFarlane has gotten a lot of flak for his decision to play the lead role in addition to his directing and co-writing duties, but he’s an incredibly likeable and natural performer with excellent comic timing. His lack of experience may show in the dramatic moments, but that’s why Charlize Theron was such a brilliant piece of casting, because she carries him through those scenes with the effortlessness that you’d expect from an actress of her caliber. And better yet, she seems to be genuinely enjoying herself in a rare comedic performance. Neil Patrick Harris is also amusing in his limited screen time as Albert’s pompous rival, but unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried, who are saddled with underwritten and humorless roles. Neeson doesn’t even seem like he’s trying, with the decision to use his native Irish accent coming off more like an act of laziness than the unexplained joke it was presumably intended to be.

The biggest problem with the film is that it’s basically a tale of two halves. The first hour is extremely funny, with an almost relentless stream of clever jokes that rarely miss their mark, but it starts to drag in the latter half as it meanders towards its conclusion. MacFarlane simply can’t maintain the fast-paced, laugh-a-minute level of comedy for the length of its nearly two-hour runtime, which begs the question of why the movie even needed to be that long in the first place. “A Million Ways to Die in the West” would have benefited greatly from some stronger supporting characters and a leaner runtime, but that shouldn’t take away from what MacFarlane has accomplished, because it’s one of the funniest comedies of its kind. Mel Brooks would be proud, diarrhea gags and all.

Because of Liam Neeson’s presence, some have described “Non-Stop” as “’Taken on a Plane,” but a more apt description would be “Speed on a Red Eye,” as in the underrated 2005 Wes Craven thriller “Red Eye.” There is a ticking clock that (conveniently) resets several times, a villain hiding in plain sight, and post-9/11 paranoia by the truckload. The beats and twists may be familiar, but it’s well executed, and director Jaume Collet-Serra wisely resists the urge to go turbo, as it were, resulting in a film that is not the action-packed thriller that its trailers suggest, and all the better because of it.

Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is an air marshal boarding a plane leaving New York for London. A few hours into the flight, Bill receives a text on his secure server notifying him that a passenger on the plane intends to kill someone every 20 minutes until his demands are met (read: a wheelbarrow full of cash). Bill enlists flight attendant Nancy (Michelle Dockery) and seatmate Jen (Julianne Moore) to help him isolate potential suspects, but quickly has reasons to suspect that either of them might be in on the plot. While this is playing out on the plane, the media on the ground is running with the story that Bill is in fact the hijacker, and once the world hears of Bill’s flaws (divorced, temper issues, drinking problem), he not only loses the trust of the public and gives the news networks a sexy (if completely backwards) narrative, he also loses the trust of people on the plane, the pilots, and the co-workers on the ground assigned to assist him. Worse, he still doesn’t know who is taunting him or what their end game is.

It’s difficult to see anyone but Neeson in this role, but if he doesn’t watch it, this is the only part he’s going to play for the rest of his life, and career renaissance be damned (those of a certain age might remember that Nesson nearly quit acting in 1999), it’s unlikely that he will be content with doing paycheck movies until he dies – he’s bound to want more. At the same time, it’s nice to see that Hollywood is willing to make mainstream action movies starring people that would be dead in the “Logan’s Run” universe. Movies without the word “Expendables” in the title, anyway.

Between this and “Don Jon,” neither of which needed her but are better because of her, Julianne Moore has made some interesting choices lately. She seems to have entered this ‘fuck you money’ phase, where she’s tired of playing the indie darling and wants to have a little fun, and there is nothing wrong with that. The rest of the cast is largely underutilized, despite the presence of big-time rising stars like Lupita Nyong’o (“12 Years a Slave”), Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) and Corey Stoll (“House of Cards”). Serra’s direction is competent, fluid and reserved – the flashiest bits are the way he displays Neeson’s texts on the screen – though we’re pretty sure that several rules of physics were violated in the big showdown. Damned if it didn’t look good, though.

No one will call “Non-Stop” their favorite movie, but it’s an entertaining distraction, like a thriller equivalent of 2012’s “Premium Rush,” though without the snappy dialogue (the opposite of snappy, really). And if Nesson is smart, he will leverage his success this month (he also stole several scenes in “The LEGO Movie”) into an even fatter paycheck. Hey, dude lost his wife in a freak accident five years ago. He’s earned this.

]]>http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2014/02/27/movie-review-non-stop/feed/0Hidden Netflix Gems: Michael Collinshttp://blog.bullz-eye.com/2012/10/27/hidden-netflix-gems-michael-collins/
http://blog.bullz-eye.com/2012/10/27/hidden-netflix-gems-michael-collins/#commentsSat, 27 Oct 2012 22:25:43 +0000http://blog.bullz-eye.com/?p=20697“It’s Saturday night and you need something to watch. Never fear, Hidden Netflix Gems is a weekly feature designed to help you decide just what it should be, and all without having to scroll through endless pages of crap or even leave the house. Each choice will be available for streaming on Netflix Instant, and the link below will take you to its page on the site. Look for a new suggestion here every Saturday.

“Michael Collins” is a 1996 historical biopic starring Liam Neeson as the titular Irish revolutionary. Written and directed by Academy Award winner Neil Jordan, the film won the Golden Lion, the highest prize at the Venice Film Festival, and became the highest-grossing picture of all-time in Ireland upon its release. The high profile cast includes Alan Rickman (Éamon de Valera), Stephen Rea (Ned Broy), Brendan Gleeson (Liam Tobin), and Julia Roberts (Kitty Kiernan).

For those who don’t know, Michael Collins was an Irish revolutionary, military, and political leader who made the liberation of his homeland from its British colonial overlords his life’s work. In the now 90 years since his death (and well before it), his actions made him a folk hero, “The Big Fellah,” the single most important figure in the fight for Irish freedom. As such, “Michael Collins” begins with the following opening crawl:

At the turn of the century Britain was the foremost world power and the British Empire stretched over two-thirds of the globe.

Despite the extent of its power, its most troublesome colony had always been the one closest to it, Ireland.

For seven hundred years Britain’s rule over Ireland had been resisted by attempts at rebellion and revolution, all of which ended in failure.

Then, in 1916, a rebellion began, to be followed by a guerilla war which would change the nature of that rule forever.

The mastermind behind that war was Michael Collins.

His life and death defined the period in its triumph, terror and tragedy.

This is his story.

Although the film depicts historical events, it is first and foremost a character piece. As such, I don’t consider it a spoiler to discuss the real-life developments of nearly a hundred years ago (aka the film’s “plot”). Even still, I won’t get into too much of the nitty gritty.

“Michael Collins” depicts its main character as the heroic leader of the songs. All at once he’s a brilliant military strategist and leader of men, but unafraid of getting his hands dirty. He’s the brilliant public speaker, the ideological inventor of guerrilla warfare, and ultimately the pragmatic diplomat who signed the Anglo-Irish Treaty when he believed any further violence would be for naught but its own sake.

The IRA had been backed into a corner when the British unexpectedly called for a cease fire and offers were made to begin peace negotiations. Collins signed the aforementioned treaty, calling it “the best we can hope for at this moment in time.” The truce established an Irish Free State only nominally attached to the British government, but fell short of the independent republic the IRA had dreamed of and preserved the separation of Northern Ireland. Collins felt that the best method moving forward was further negotiations from the “inside,” with the hope that they could someday achieve those goals without further bloodshed.

Rickman’s de Valera is pitted against Collins to various degrees throughout the film, but never more so than in the treaty’s wake. His refusal to accept its terms led (indirectly) to the Irish Civil War, Collins’ assassination, and even the violence that continues to shake Northern Ireland to this day.

In 1966, de Valera, then the Irish president, was quoted as saying, “It is my considered opinion that in the fullness of time history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it will be recorded at my expense.” I don’t think even he could have predicted just how right he would be, and “Michael Collins” is a shining example. The film seems to both run with the idea by, as Roger Ebert put it, portraying Dev as “a weak, mannered, sniveling prima donna whose grandstanding led to decades of unnecessary bloodshed” and concede it as an inherent flaw by including the quote in the picture’s end. In the film, Dev is the Judas to Collins’ Christ, characterizing the former’s refusal to support the treaty as indirectly leading to the assassination of the latter, and perhaps even hinting that Dev knew the attempt on Collins’ life was coming.

But as Neil Jordan has pointed out, it wold be impossible to, in a mere two hours, portray an entirely accurate account of events to an audience that (for the most part) would know nothing of the minutiae of Irish history. That said, “Michael Collins” gets a lot more right than it gets wrong. At the end of the day, the fact remains that it is a movie first and a biography second. For the movie to be both commercially and artistically successful, it required a villain outside of the faceless evil of the British Empire. Thus the role of tangible, human antagonist fell into de Valera’s lap. And let’s face it, if there wasn’t a hint of truth in the idea, Dev would never have made that quote.

Sometimes the (near) truth is stranger or more exciting than fiction, and there are few better examples than the life of Michael Collins. Whether or not you’re a history buff, “Michael Collins” is satisfying film that combines biography, war, and political intrigue without getting too intense with any of them (although the romantic subplot can seem out of place). And hey, for once you can tell people you learned something from a film rife with explosions.

Check out the trailer below and follow the writer on Twitter @NateKreichman.

Funny story: Quentin Tarantino didn’t originally want to cast Diane Kruger as German movie star turned spy Bridget von Hammersmark in his WWII epic “Inglourious Basterds” because he didn’t believe she was really German. After finally convincing him otherwise, Kruger was awarded the role, delivering one of the film’s finer performances in the process – somewhat surprising considering she was so forgettable in films like “Troy” and “National Treasure.” We’re not the only ones who think so, either, as GQ‘s Devin Gordon is more than willing to admit in his latest piece on the former model.

Kruger recently visited the GQ studio for a photo shoot to promote her latest role alongside Liam Neeson in the action thriller, “Unknown,” and along with the sexy pic above (in addition to several sexier and more playful shots of the actress in animal fur and leopard print on the website), Kruger spoke briefly about the “Inglourious Basterds” incident and what it’s like working with Neeson. Click over to the article for more.